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Paid Leave Scorecard Graphic Of The Best And Worst Employershttp://paidleave.us/

While our government has failed to implement a policy that would guarantee paid leave to all employees across the nation, one grassroots organization, along with the private sector, is taking matters into their own hands. Paid Leave for the United States (PL + US), founded by Katie Bethell, is a non-profit organization that seeks to win “high-quality family leave for everyone.” And there is perhaps no one more qualified or passionate to lead the charge than this former momsrising.org Campaign Director. Their mission is simple albeit a challenging one.

In America, only 1 in 4 employees receive any kind of leave -- that stat is abysmal. What’s more, of the companies, which are widely praised for their commitment to supporting working mothers, 25% of those corporations provide very limited paid leave. Research continues to affirm that extended paid parental leave for both parents is a significant piece of the gender equity puzzle and if we want our workforce to progress in a way that encourages parity, families must receive this benefit. Period. Full stop.

PL + US recognizes the caregiving crisis in our country and understands that the solution isn’t off-ramping women’s careers but to guarantee paid leave for all US workers.

Christmas came a bit early this year as I just received their corporate index, which profiles and compares policies, corporation by corporation. This scorecard not only provides transparency among the top 70 companies in the country but also essentially demands those who fall short to step up.

In 2018, PL + US helped restructure policy among some corporate giants who upped the ante on their parental leave policies, namely; Walmart, Starbuck’s and CVS. As the private sector and our culture begin to shift and place a higher value on helping employees integrate work and family, PL + US is working around the clock to ensure that all employees receive the paid leave they so desperately need and deserve.

I view the index as an essential tool for every professional. And for those who have only started contemplating a family, this list is not only informative but empowering.

The scorecard represents leverage and choices where there was once only concession and settling. It gives would-be and working parents, and all of us with aging parents, the freedom to look at the overall corporate landscape and assess the right job and fit for them and their family goals; not the other way around. This is not your Baby Boomers workforce. Generation X and Millennials are increasingly demanding paid family leave, which amounts to roughly 109 million American workers who understand that taking care of our most vulnerable (babies and elders) is not a perk, but a necessity.

And transparency is key in continuing to push paid leave forward. Now three years into the PL+US Employer Scorecard, progress can truly be tracked. According to Annie Sartor, PL+US’ Director of Advocacy,

We are beginning to see more and more policies included fathers and non-birthing parents. Twenty of the seventy companies on this list have increased their leave policies in the last year alone. We are also seeing a shift to include more classes of employees included in the policies. To be fair, this is still an area where there is more work to do.

With this level of transparency, potential employers are finally being held accountable for their policies, which gives employees the opportunity to make more informed decisions about where they will work. In turn, this puts pressure on other companies to either amend their paid leave policies and reassess their commitment to working families or risk losing top talent to competitors. As the private sector continues to evolve, it will eventually inform public policy, and at some point, the pressure will be too great for our government to ignore. It’s an exciting time in our collective history and one that will be exactly what we choose to make it.

I’m a mom, consultant, career coach and speaker fiercely advocating for millennial working parents. As a former SVP in the finance industry, I always valued growing my career so when I hit the maternal wall, it was not only difficult but unexpected. Since more millennial ...